The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler
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''The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler'' is a 2009
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
directed by
John Kent Harrison John Kent Harrison is a Canadian film and television director and writer. Early Life Harrison was born in London, Ontario in 1947 and attended the private school Appleby College in Oakville, Ontario. After graduating in 1964, he attended Colu ...
. The teleplay by Harrison and Lawrence John Spagnola, based on the 2007
biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
''Die Mutter der Holocaust-Kinder: Irena Sendler und die geretteten Kinder aus dem Warschauer Ghetto'',DVA Dt.Verlags-Anstalt, / English translation 2010: ''The Mother of the Holocaust Children'' by Anna Mieszkowska focuses on
Irena Sendler Irena Stanisława Sendler (), also referred to as Irena Sendlerowa in Poland, ''nom de guerre'' Jolanta (15 February 1910 – 12 May 2008), was a Polish humanitarian, social worker, and nurse who served in the Polish Underground Resista ...
, a
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
er who smuggled approximately 2,500
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish children to safety during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The ''
Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...
'' production was filmed on location in
Riga, Latvia Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Bal ...
. It was broadcast on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
channels in North America on April 19, 2009, and released to DVD in Hallmark Gold Crown stores in June of that year.


Plot

Irena Sendler Irena Stanisława Sendler (), also referred to as Irena Sendlerowa in Poland, ''nom de guerre'' Jolanta (15 February 1910 – 12 May 2008), was a Polish humanitarian, social worker, and nurse who served in the Polish Underground Resista ...
(
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Krzyżanowska) is a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
social worker who has sympathized with the Jews since her childhood, when her physician father died of
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...
contracted while treating poor Jewish patients. When she initially proposes saving Jewish children from the
Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (german: Warschauer Ghetto, officially , "Jewish Residential District in Warsaw"; pl, getto warszawskie) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the G ...
, her idea is met with skepticism by fellow workers, her parish priest, and even her own mother Janina. Using forged identification to present herself as a nurse to guards at the entrance to the enclave where the Jewish population has been sequestered, Irena tries to convince the parents of young children to allow her to smuggle them out to safety. Many fear they will never see them again, and she assures them she will document where each child is sent to facilitate their reunion with their parents once the war is over. Others bemoan the fact their children will be raised in a faith other than their own and forget their religious beliefs and traditions, but Irena convinces them this is a small price to pay in exchange for keeping them alive. Among those helping Irena is Stefan, a Jewish friend from her university days. He is aware of a few overlooked exits from the ghetto and uses this knowledge to help Irena and others involved with the underground organization
Żegota Żegota (, full codename: the "Konrad Żegota Committee"Yad Vashem Shoa Resource CenterZegota/ref>) was the Polish Council to Aid Jews with the Government Delegation for Poland ( pl, Rada Pomocy Żydom przy Delegaturze Rządu RP na Kraj), an un ...
plan their strategies and devise routes to smuggle the children, some in boxes hidden under bricks on wheelbarrows, others through sewer systems, and still others brazenly escorted through the front door of the
city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
hand-in-hand with their savior. Eventually Irena is arrested by the
Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
and placed in captivity, where she undergoes interrogation accompanied by torture. However, she refuses to name those who helped her. She is sentenced to death by firing squad, but at the last moment a guard, bribed by the Polish
Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...
resistance movement, frees her. After briefly visiting her ailing mother, Irena is taken to a remote rural farm, where she is reunited with Stefan. In an
epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...
, we learn Irena and Stefan eventually married and she was nominated for the
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
in 2007. In a taped interview, real-life Irena discusses her wartime efforts and pays tribute to the mothers who selflessly agreed to separate from their children and the women who provided them with a safe haven.


Cast

*
Anna Paquin Anna Hélène Paquin ( ; born 24 July 1982) is a New Zealand actress. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Wellington, Paquin made her acting debut portraying Flora McGrath in the romantic drama film ''The Piano'' (1993), for which she won the Aca ...
- Irena Sendler *
Marcia Gay Harden Marcia Gay Harden (born August 14, 1959) is an American actress. She is the recipient of accolades including an Academy Award and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for a Critics' Choice Movie Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards. Born ...
- Janina Krzyżanowska *
Goran Višnjić Goran Višnjić (; born 9 September 1972) is a Croatian actor who has appeared in American and British films and television productions. He is best known in the United States for his roles as Dr. Luka Kovač in '' ER'' and Garcia Flynn in '' Tim ...
- Stefan *
Nathaniel Parker Nathaniel Parker (born 18 May 1962) is an English stage and screen actor best known for playing the lead in the BBC crime drama series ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'', and Agravaine de Bois in the fourth series of '' Merlin''. Early life N ...
- Dr. Majkowski *
Michelle Dockery Michelle Suzanne Dockery (born 15 December 1981) is an English television and film actress. She is best known for her leading performance as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV television period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2015), for which ...
- Ewa Rozenfeld *
Steve Speirs Steve Speirs (born Steven Roberts, 22 February 1965) is a Welsh actor and writer who has appeared in films such as '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' and '' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest''. Early life He was born as ...
- Piotr *
Iddo Goldberg Iddo Goldberg ( he, עדו גולדברג; born 5 August 1975) is an Israeli-British actor born in Israel. He is known for his roles as Ben in ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'', Freddie Thorne in ''Peaky Blinders'', Isaac Walton in '' Salem'' and ...
- Jakub Rozenfeld * Paul Freeman - Monsignor Godlewski * Danny Webb - Trojan *
Krzysztof Pieczyński Krzysztof Pieczyński (born 27 March 1957) is a Polish actor. He appeared in more than fifty films since 1979. Filmography References External links * 1957 births Living people Polish male film actors Polish male television actor ...
- Dr.
Janusz Korczak Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit (22 July 1878 or 1879 – 7 August 1942), was a Polish Jewish educator, children's author and pedagogue known as ''Pan Doktor'' ("Mr. Doctor") or ''Stary Doktor'' ("Old Doctor"). After spending ma ...
*
Leigh Lawson Allan Leigh Lawson (born 21 July 1945) is an English actor, director and writer. Life and career Lawson was born in Atherstone, Warwickshire. He initially studied at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts before training further at the Royal Academ ...
- Rabbi Rozenfeld *
Maja Ostaszewska Maja Ostaszewska (born 3 September 1972) is a Polish actress. Biography She was born in Kraków, the daughter of Polish musician Jacek Ostaszewski, of the Ostoja Clan. Ostaszewska was raised Buddhist. She started her acting training in her n ...
- Jadwiga *
Danuta Stenka Danuta Stenka (born 10 October 1961 in Sierakowice, Poland) is a Polish actress. She is one of the leading Polish film and theatre actresses. Life and career From 1991, she spent a decade working at Teatr Dramatyczny in Warsaw, then at TR Wars ...
- Hannah Rozenfeld * Olga Bołądź - Zofia * William Ellis - Wiktor * Rebecca Windheim - Karolina Rozenfeld


Critical reception

Ginia Bellafante of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said the film "recounts her story with none of the zeal, passion, terror and chaos that her mission involved" and added, "The producers strive for a solemnity that cannot be called maudlin . . . and wind up with something that feels lazy, as if they believed the project's noble goals were enough to carry it." John Maynard of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' observed, "Comparisons to
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
's ''
Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film fo ...
'' are inevitable . . . Of course, no TV movie could offer the beauty and complexity of Spielberg's Oscar-winning film, but ''Courageous Heart'' . . . is equally engaging on a smaller scale, full of small, poignant moments." Daniel Carlson of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' said, "It's not that the telefilm is necessarily bad; it's that co-writer and director John Kent Harrison only occasionally manages to imbue the story with the requisite tension and emotional strife deserving of one of the darkest chapters in history. There are a few harrowing moments that skillfully bring home the human and emotional cost of the war, but mostly the TV movie plays like too many other things we've seen before." ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called the film "taut, emotional and compelling" and added, "Granted, the movie only sparingly touches upon the depth of the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
atrocities, and the evidence of them toward the end - brutal as it is - proves relatively tame in light of what transpired. Yet as directed by John Kent Harrison . . . there's persistent tension throughout the movie."


See also

* Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Women (1997 film by Peter Bogdanovich)


References


External links

*
''The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler'' at CBS.com

''Hallmark Hall of Fame'' news release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Courageous Heart Of Irena Sendler 2009 television films 2009 films Films about Jews and Judaism Films based on biographies Holocaust films Warsaw Ghetto fiction Hallmark Hall of Fame episodes Children in the Holocaust Works about children in war Films scored by Jan A. P. Kaczmarek Films directed by John Kent Harrison Films shot in Latvia Films set in Warsaw